The German real estate investor DIFA has bought the new retail development Les Grands Prés from the Dutch developer Foruminvest for a little over € 100 mln.
Les Grands Prés is situated in the Belgian Mons (Bergen) and comprises a total of 36,000 m² of retail space including a large Caarefour (the largest of Belgium with 20,000 m²) and 75 shops. The Carrefour is an investment of Redevco and is not involved in the purchase.
Les Grands Prés opened its doors last September and appeared a crowd-puller from the start with a service area of approx. 40 km around the city. Many international retail chains have shops there such as Zara, Hennes & Mauritz, Esprit, Mango, Tommy Hilfiger, Cool Cat and River Woods.
For a while it was assumed that Foruminvest would keep Les Grands Prés in its own portfolio but apparently this is not the case. Neither DIFA nor Foruminvest wanted to officially confirm or deny the purchase. It is expected that the initial return on investment is approx. 6%. The deal is said to have been advised by Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker, according to the Belgian magazine Expertise.
Source: Vastgoedmarkt
